Addiction
by Lost Legendaerie
Summary: It's about Rhyme," Joshua admitted, and Shiki sighed, leaning against her boyfriend. Neku remarked scornfully, "Finally come to terms with her leaving? I'm just surprised she didn't say something sooner, after all you put her through." JxR -reformatted!-
1. Chapter 1

A/N. Everyone who enjoys the following fanfiction needs to go buy a ticket to Sherlock Holmes right now. xD That story is the sole inspiration for this. I thought it up on the way home. ^^;; But, yes this whole little thing is dedicated all the awesome folks on the Joshyme's Hachiko Forum- Angel, J, Chris, JF, Cshelll, Silvie, Beat, and everyone else whose names I can't remember. xD;;

**NOTE**: Contains endgame spoilers, dark themes, and some, um... making out. But it's not that bad, so.... this note is entirely useless. Poor thing. Let's call it Steve. ...Steve is done.

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Addiction

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The air outside the hall was cold, and grey, and spoke of winter. It had no resemblance to the air inside the apartment hall, where two collage students were currently absorbed in a very practical application of the principles of biology. Or perhaps chemistry. Anyway.

Neku, however, was thinking of neither chemistry nor biology or anything other than Shiki's lips on his, and her hands playing with his shirt collar, and his hands desperately fumbling to get the door of his apartment open before his longtime girlfriend relieved him of his clothes and sanity in the hallway. Not that he minded, but he was pretty sure there was some clause above doing such things outside of his room in the fine print of the lease.

He broke free of her contact, only to drag his lips along her collar bone as the door behind him succumbed to his key. His partner sighed, shivered, then was drug inside as Neku pinned her to the wall and resumed his attentions, albeit with less restraint.

Suddenly, he broke away again, and shot a furious blue glare at the small couch behind him.

"Do you _mind_?" he hissed, and the figure on the couch shifted so it was facing him better.

"Not at all," the pale-haired boy noted. "Please, continue. You seem to be enjoying yourself."

Neku gritted his teeth and pulled Shiki behind him as Shibuya's Composer stood and dusted something off the fashionable rusty plaid button-fronted coat. "What do you _want_, Joshua?"

Joshua did not answer, and continued fiddling with his appearance, staring at his 19 year old face in the shine of the glass-topped coffee table. "Dear me, Neku, you're going to catch your death of cold in such light, plain clothes." He raised his gaze, a faint smirk visible in his violet eyes as he continued on in a serious tone. "It _is_ the dead of winter."

"We're inside, and will you just answer me?"

The windows suddenly mysteriously opened, and the chill city air filled the apartment as Joshua idly toyed with his phone. "What was that, Neku?"

The teenager snorted furiously through his nose, and made for the door only to hear it lock with a rather sickening click. The windows closed again, and Joshua sighed as he sank back down onto the furniture.

"All right. No more parlor tricks, I promise. ...I have... " Joshua's law tightened and he seemed to choke on his words for a moment as Neku sighed and leaned against the wall, still protectively close to Shiki.

"...You have...?"

Joshua looked away, and waved his hand as he started afresh. "It's about Rhyme," he admitted, and Shiki sighed, leaning against her boyfriend. Neku remarked scornfully, "Finally come to terms with her leaving? I'm just surprised she didn't say something sooner, after all you put her through."

Joshua shot Neku a glare that could have melted rock, then he looked away again, a negative air like a black hole surrounding him, its darkness almost tangible. "She won't enter the city anymore. I haven't seen her for two weeks."

"Can you blame her?" Shiki spoke at last, her voice soft but firm. "Joshua, you gave her nightmares for seven months, and that's not even scratching the surface."

The black hole widened, as Joshua let out a grating breath- exercising restraint, shockingly. "I need you to get her to come back. I need to talk to her."

"No."

Shiki winced, as the black hole became totally tangible and Joshua stood to face Neku. "No?" His voice was icy and dangerous as only one who wields incredible power can assume.

"No," Neku repeated, unfazed. "I'm not going to deliver Rhyme back into your heartless hands until you realize something."

"What?"

"That's she's a human being."

Joshua snorted, and the darkness vanished. "I know that, and very well, " he taunted, smirking. "So go tell her to come back."

"As long as you keep up with that mentality, you _don't_ get it." Neku shook his head. "And if you don't get it, then, you don't deserve her."

Joshua's head snapped around, and his eyes narrowed in fury. Shiki tightened her grip on Neku's arm, but to no end. The Composer simply vanished, and the air gradually lost its supernatural cold.

The orange-haired young man rolled his head against the wall. "It's a miracle she lasted this long," he sighed, almost as protective of the blonde philanthropist as her older brother. Shiki laid her head against Neku's chest. "I know. I hope she doesn't run into him again."

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There was an old saying. _'Nothing hurts as much as the truth.' _Perhaps that was what was making water spring to Joshua's eyes as he resumed human form and tramped along the sidewalk, tiny bits of ice peppering his cheeks as the wind lashed his hair around.

He had been cruel to her, perhaps, but he couldn't help it. It was his nature to push people to their limits, a sort of sadistic curiosity of how far he could bend them until they broke. Neku had taken three weeks. Rhyme had taken three years.

Rhyme was an optimist, an idealist, convinced that there was enough good in the world for it to be worth trying to improve. He had done his best to steer the very worst characters in his city in her direction- which had led to a couple attempted rapes, several dozen carjackings, and even a good old fashioned stalk-and-kidnap. All of which he had saved her from, naturally, in the name of the experiment.

But after all this, she still insisted on compassion and mercy, even going so far as to accuse Joshua of such foolish sentiments as caring about her enough to save her. Ridiculous, really, and he had happily devoted the past years alternately putting her in danger and pulling her out of it until at last he had taken it too far and directly attacked her with Noise.

He remembered those nights- her muffled screams as her Soul was ripped to pieces, and he had stood back and observed, letting the savage beasts do their worst for several months, right until she had attempted to kill herself.

Joshua closed his eyes as the scene played out in his head, disgustingly clear;

_'Rhyme's fingers were clenched in a death grip around the handle of the knife, her chest racked with strangled sobs as she pressed the blade to her wrist. "Is this what you want, Joshua, " she pleaded, her teeth almost chattering together as her body quivered on the edge of shock. "Do you want me to just die? Will you leave me alone then?"_

_"Certainly not. If you die, your Soul still would belong to me," he noted, leaning against the air wall with an air of bored distaste. "I want you to __**understand,**__ Miss Bito."'_

Amidst all the clatter of shoes on the pavement, of the mindless droning of voices, of the faint swishing of clothes and all the empty sounds that a crowd makes, the pale boy froze at a single, halting, step.

_'"Understand?" she choked, raising those watery blue eyes to stare at him with broken bewilderment. "Understand what? That you're a horrible person?"'_

In the middle of the intersection, at the very boundary that marked the edge of Joshua's power, stood a girl, staring into the sky and watching the snow fall gently down.

_'Rhyme drew in a breath. "If that's what you want me to understand, I may as well die. I won't believe it, because I believe in you!"_

_The girl still lay quivering on the floor as her tormentor sighed. "Do you? That's such a pity. But I suppose, after all I've put you through, it's no surprise you've become delusional."'_

That morning, Joshua remembered, Rhyme had told her brother everything. Five minutes later, they were on a train to Yokohama, gone without a trace or any intention of returning. Or so he had thought- and there she was, watching a commercial play on the giant screen of 104.

He stepped forward- and rather quickly, too. He couldn't help it.

At the sound of his footsteps, Rhyme turned, and the tiny trace of color that had graced those sunken cheeks from the cold vanished. For her credit, however, she forced a smile and held her ground.

"Joshua. Hello."

The sensation of the barrier was like walking into a wall of fishhooks, all dragging him backward with irresistible force and Soul-searing pain. "Rhyme," he replied, only able to dip his head without taking a step back. "I was hoping to see you."

Something like hope followed by panic, then sadness flashed in Rhyme's eyes, though she didn't budge as Joshua's breath fanned over her. She didn't say anything, either, and Joshua hesitated.

"When are you coming back to Shibuya?" he settled for at last, stalling for time with a question he already knew the bitter answer to. The girl didn't buy it for a moment.

"I'm not. I came to say goodbye."

This took him by surprise. "Why would you do that?" he mumbled, suddenly feeling foolish. It made no sense. Why would she ever seek him out?

"Because I love you," she replied simply, with a sad little smile. "But I understand now."

"Do you, now?" Joshua swallowed, as the blonde teenager looked away suddenly. "Yes, I do. At last."

"You hate anything you don't understand and everyone you can't control. You've been given power, but with that power came chains. You've sacrificed everything to become who you are, and... that's why I love you." A tear rolled down her pale, white cheek- Joshua started to brush it away, but she was just out of his reach. "Because you can't love me back."

Suddenly, Rhyme chuckled self consciously, and that forced smile returned. "Well, I have to be going soon. Take care, Joshua."

Too late, after she had been swallowed up by the crowds, Joshua had the presence of mind to call faintly, "Take care, Rhyme," before turning on his heel and vanishing into the crowds himself, eager to get away from that wretched barrier. But it seemed like the hooks in the barrier only pulled him backwards now, and the cold air wasn't the only thing that made his eyes sting.

He wasn't going to give her up so easily.

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Well? Should I continue? It's probably nothing more than a three-parter, but it'll be taking the place of ISW's updates. So...?


	2. Chapter 2

This update is brought to you by Angel. Whoever said putting Saro under pressure didn't get things done applied the wrong kinda pressure.

...ha ha, that was accidental. Anyway. Moving on now.

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In the dark back room of the dear little Cafe on Cat Street, Joshua opened violet eyes that flinched at the intrusion of light as midday sunshine cut through a part in the curtains. The Composer hissed between his teeth before the light winked out again via telekanisis, and he plonked the phone back on his bedside table.

To say he had not been a a good mood for the last few days would have been a gross understatement.

The whole of Shibuya could feel the pressure of the negative energy, of the frustration and cold fury. The sun's warmth seemed not to reach the ground, and the Game itself had been put on hold as Reapers worked overtime just keeping the Noise levels down enough for a team of Players to last through a mission.

_How dare she go_, he thought stubbornly, absently spawning a few Drakes as he growled and considering jumping Planes and getting on with his day. Mainly, hunting down Neku and prying Rhyme's phone number out of him. Which was hard work even without the fact that Neku was on the other side of the border, too. _Damn them all._

If they set foot in Shibuya while his mood stayed this dark, they was a very good chance of his threats coming to fruition. Being the Guardian of the Middle Plane came with its perks.

"Joshua?"

The boy on the bed looked up suddenly, unaware of how absolutely feral his eyes looked in the gloom before he relaxed and sat upright. "Mr. H," he almost smiled, his eyes still faintly hostile. "Good morning."

The barista smiled and rubbed his permenant stubble. "Is it really, though? I was washing dishes when I saw a Neoclassical Drake destroying my garden."

"It jumped planes?" For a moment, by accident, Joshua almost seemed to care before Hanekoma shoved his hands in his pockets and gave Joshua a wry look. "No, it got a hold of my gardener and he went raving mad with the hedgetrimmers." A chuckle bubbled from under his black vest as he smiled in a way that made even Joshua think for a second on whether he was joking or not.

"Did you take care of it?"

"It shouldn't have been there in the first place, but... yes."

Joshua was sorely tempted at this point in time to use his maximum powers of cruelty and mockery to drive away his last companion and grovel in hatred and self-pity. But...

_"I love you.... Because you can't love me back."_

Her words, those especially, had been stuck in his mind and his throat for some time now. He simply sighed and looked down, the picture of a begrudgingly repantant child. The Composer sensed Hanekoma smile sadly.

"So," the Ex-Angel quiered, in that effortlessly chumy way of his that made Joshua bristle with envy even as he scooted over to make room for the other to sit down, "what's the plan?"

"I'm going to bring her back," Joshua replied coldly, aware of the sudden Noise spawning outside his window. He flicked open his phone from where he sat, hit a few buttons, and tilted his head at the rush of static that followed. Hanekoma was the only person who could make him feel responsible and all that shi-

_"If that's what you want me to understand, I may as well die. I won't believe it, because I believe in you!"_

This time, he let the cafe owner take care of the Noise eruption. The pale-haired boy drew his legs up on the mattress as the feeling ebbed. "Whatever it takes, I'll finish what I started."

"At least you're sticking with something," quipped Hanekoma, as he chuckled and tilted his head to stare at the ceiling. Joshua noticed this, of course- classic Mr. H behavior when worried- take it all as a joke.

"Are you worried about her, or me?"

"Can't it be both?" The older-in-body man sighed, and turned warm brown eyes on his companion. "And stop looking for a reason to get mad at me. You know who I'd pick, because I know which one of you is more likely to hurt the other."

Suddenly, the boy was gone, teleported outside and jumping Planes. Hanekoma rolled his eyes skyward.

"Neku, please tell me you're out of his range."

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Neku was, but Shiki wasn't. Joshua picked up her Soul lingering in front of 104- he could sense her apprehension from Cat Street, as tuned into her Vibe as he was. What is it about that batch of Ex-Players that their Souls seem to glow brighter than others?

Normally, Joshua would have popped in front of Shiki, smirking as eviliy as ever, and simply taken her phone as to get Rhyme's number. But today, he would have to be slightly more subtle, and trust to luck- ok, so he never trusted anything to luck- that he could make her think the number.

Out came the phone.

'I should call Rhyme today', was the sudden idea that popped into her mind. The suprise on her face was normal of imprinting- after all, it was total thought train derailment most of the time.

_But I just called her yesterday_, Shiki thought back with a slight scowl. He sensed her suspicion.

'Oh, but I totally forgot to ask her about getting together for lunch sometime!'

"Oh, yeah," she agreed out loud, quickly tapping a number on speed dial and waiting for it to go through.

Something slammed into Shik from behind, and the phone was knocked from her hand to the ground, landing face-up with a clatter and almost getting stepped on. It was only there for a split second, but the Composer had sharp eyes. Eyes that matched his satisfied smirk as he turned away and started to return to WildKat when he sensed her pain.

Perhaps he'd hit her harder than he should have. Shiki was holding her shoulder and looking around her in shock. She would certainly have a bruise in the morning, he surmised.

Too bad. Perhaps Neku could give her a massage next time they-

_"Because I love you." _

Joshua hissed between his teeth, rolled his eyes, then jumped planes a few feet away, in a convinient blind spot in the crowds. "Good morning, Shiki."

Shiki looked up at him, starled, like a deer caught in the headlights, her short black hair falling in front of her glasses with the movement before she shook them out of the way, and muttered something quickly into the phone before hanging up.

"Good morning, Joshua," she said, forcing a little bit of cheerfulness into her voice. Joshua considered playing innocent and asking who she was talking to, but instead tiled his head very slightly to the side.

"I saw that man run into you. Is your shoulder all right?"

"It hurts," she confessed, and Joshua had to close his eyes so she wouldn't see them roll. _Obviously. Honestly, why is Neku wasting his time with_-

_"You hate anything you don't understand and everyone you can't control."_

"Hold still," he sighed, with an air of long suffering as he tocuhed her shoulder and erased the damage he had caused. Shiki smiled, still looking a little pale. "Thank you, Joshua. Did you just stop in to help me?"

"I was in the neighborhood," he replied evasively, then dipped his head and vanished before he would be detained by any more questions. The sooner he talked to Rhyme, the better.

Moments later, he was perched on the very top of Pork City, dropping Planes and fishing out his cell phone while he absently enjoyed the faint warmth of the midday sun. The whole of the UG was starting to relax along with it's Composer, now that his little wayward project was on the line.

"Bito residence?" came the almost chipper voice on the other end of the line.

For a half second, Joshua was caught off guard- he hadn't expected her to pick up so quickly, really. Besides, what was he doing? She wanted nothing to do with him, and he couldn't touch her if she was outside of the city.

"Hey, Rhyme," he murmured into the phone.

"...Hello." Her voice was wavering, stripped of the cheer and strength of only moments prior.

_"I came to say goodbye."_

"How you been any better?" Joshua was suprised by the softness of his own voice. Rhyme seemed suprised, too. "I'm doing ok, I guess. A... little better every day, I think. It's peaceful out here, you know."

Abrupted, he demanded, "so, when you get to feeling a little better, you're coming back, right?"

"...I ..."

He could almost feel her resolve slipping, picturing her sad scowl as she tried to balence her selfness nature with self preservation. "I miss you," he purred, and it tasted like poison on his tongue- he savored it, but this time with a little twinge of guilt.

"Hey!"

Beat had picked up the phone. "Who is thi'," he growled, in typical borderline illiterate fashion. Joshua cussed in a low voice and hung up.

The clouds were gathering around the city again, and as the Composer jumped Planes and from the top of the building, his eyes were far darker than the shadows cast by the building of his city.

Yes, indeed, it was his city. And its people were there for his use.

_"You've been given power, but with that power came chains..."_

As he called the darkest souls in Shibuya to him, he couldn't help a small, tight smirk. Tomorrow they would see which one of them was chained...

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Yes, I came up with that title for him, and I hope it catches on. Since the Reapers Game is for all the young dead stuck in limbo, I decided that the UG was kinda a middle plane between life and the afterlife. Or something. Yay~


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- Ok, so you can thank the song 'So Long Goodbye' by Sum 41 also for this update, and Angel again. So... yeah.

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Sipping calmly and casually on a cup of coffee from Stationside, Joshua perched on the top of 10-4, safe and sharp-eyed in his home plane. He had been scanning the crowds; waiting to pick up her Soul, but in the end had simply left the channel open and let the disgusting thoughts and desires of his city flow around him.

He was like a stone in a polluted river- observing but never a part of the sewage. At least, that was how he pictured himself- cold, proud, and alone.

The Composer scowled as he glanced at the sky, sensing rain and the lateness of the morning. His rather forcefully imprinted men were late. Joshua rubbed his forehead, willing the muscles in his face to still. _At this rate, I'm going to get a headache._

After exactly 31 seconds- yes, he was impatient enough to count- Joshua stood and bounded nimbly to the top of the nearest building, widening his awareness to the very stretches of the city and not-quite-by-accident sending out of pulse of impatience.

"Where are they?" he hissed, purple eyes narrowing to feral slits. _This is the __**last **__time I get convicts to do my legwork._

At last, his 'ambassadors' were entering the city in their dark-windowed van- by Cat Street of all places. Joshua cursed the stupidity of mortals again, and warped the car past the cafe. Hanekoma didn't need to know what he had done.

Both van and Composer landed in an abandoned building just north of the Miyashita overpass, the latter jumping planes at the same time and assuming the teenaged body he had been favoring recently.

The driver stumbled out quickly, bowing to Joshua as he had been imprinted to. At this, the Composer felt a little of his good humor return. "What took you so long? You didn't cause a scene, did you?"

"No. It was an easy job. The boy never even saw us."

"And the girl?"

The ex-convict nodded. "She's fine."

His employer's shoulders relaxed slightly. "Good for you she is. If she wasn't, you would have been better off shooting yourself outside the city." Joshua smirked slightly, sensing the man's fear and drawing satisfaction from it. _What do you know, Josh, you still got it._

"Make her comfortable, and tell me when she wakes up. I have other business to attend too."

The convict rubbed his hand through his dirty black hair, in a way that reminded Joshua of his dearest friend and made a flicker of guilt run though his stomach. "How can I get a hold of you?"

"Just think it. Loudly. I will come." Joshua jumped planes, leaving a few sparkles of light to make an impression as he did so.

_I win, Rhyme._

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A few hours of absent scanning and Noise erasing- Hanekoma's suggestion of 'community service' for spawning such numbers of the beasts in his anger- later, and Joshua picked up on the thought he had been waiting for.

_She's awake._

Gratefully, Joshua closed off his mind to Shibuya's flow of thoughts once more. It gave him headaches to listen to their selfish and petty troubles for so long. Almost feeling happy, he warped to the building after one last quick scan to make sure Hanekoma was not there, and he dropped down to the UG right in the middle of his borrowed men. They were clustered like flies over a carcass in the hallway outside a small, decaying bedroom, buzzing in low voices about the nature of their employer.

With a snort of annoyance, Joshua silenced them with a sweep of his hand before opening the door with unnatural silence.

His breath caught suddenly in his throat.

Rhyme was tied to a chair, head bowed. Her paleness from before had returned in force, and there was a bruise standing out starkly on her pale cheek. She raised her eyes when Joshua entered, and the affection and relief that flashed in her eyes made him feel almost... sick.

_She thinks I'm here to rescue her_, he thought dully. His gaze settled on her cheek again, and he spun to face his lackeys.

"Who hurt her," he rasped, eyes glowing with sinister light as he raised one hand towards them.

"They didn't," said a soft voice, husky with dryness and sharp with pain. "I fell over on the way here."

Joshua tossed her a cold glance over his shoulder. "You're defending the convicts who brought you so far from home?"

Rhyme licked dry, cracked lips, her eyes the only part of her that still looked alive. "Don't hurt them, Joshua," she pleaded again.

Moment passed by. Joshua's hand was still holding the men in place, his eyes locked with his captive. Suddenly, he swore, and dropped his hand long enough to slam the door between them. With a quick short-term-memory eraser and an imprinting to leave as quickly as possible, he severed ties with the men.

"You came for me," Rhyme murmured after a moment. "I knew you would."

"No, you didn't," he corrected, staring her down. "You--"

She shook her head, but he could sense her turmoil. "I had faith in you."

"No, you didn't--"

"I did and I do," she insisted, and as she raised her head again, he saw she was telling the truth. Though her mind knew he was the one responsible, her heart wouldn't let her accept it.

Even after all he had done, she still had faith in him. Not even Hanekoma would be so blind as to believe the best in him.

Joshua looked away with a snort, unnerved by her dedication. "You fool."

_"I won't believe it, because I believe in you!"_

Rhyme didn't reply, and lowered her head again. "What do you want with me?"

To his displeasure, he didn't have an answer ready, and had to take a moment to formulate his thoughts again. "To prove to you that you can never escape," he murmured at last, his own words feeling hollow.

"Is that all?" She sniffed suddenly, and he noticed a tear running down her face. "I never wanted to escape, anyway. I still lo--"

Hastily, he stepped forward and wiped away her tears with a cold hand, healing the bruise on her cheek with the same motion. "Do you want something to drink?" His voice was stiff and emotionless- he didn't trust it any other way.

She shook her head, taking in a breath. "No, I'm ok. I just..." she sighed again, and Joshua found himself picking up on her thoughts by accident.

_Beat's going to be killing himself trying to find me. I'm such a stupid little sister. I want to go home, or at least tell him everything's all right. Not that he'll believe me. But he'll at least be happy to know I'm alive._

"Tell me, Rhyme," he asked, his voice starting to regain is smoothness as he leaned against the wall in front of her, "do you ever worry about yourself?"

"I try not to. Enough people worry about me, I don't need to. Why," she asked, obviously curious. Not that he could blame her- both expected her to be shredded by Noise by now. Even he didn't know why he was holding back, now that he had her all to himself.

"Just curious," Joshua shrugged, deciding suddenly that honesty was a good policy. At least until he got his nerve back.

_"I love you!"_

"Ok," she sighed suddenly. Snapping out of his musings, he shot her a glare. "What?"

"I said okay. You've proved your point. Are you going to kill me now, or are you going to starve me to death, or just go back to 'analyzing' me?" Her lower lip started to quiver. "Just... do something. Please."

"Why should I? You sound rather eager to--"

"I'm not," she cut him off, eyes still on the floor. "It's just... Every second I sit here, I just keep praying that you're the person I thought I fell in love with!"

The tears were coming back down, and falling almost as fast as her agonized words. "If you had always shown me cruelty, Joshua, perhaps I wouldn't have been so... so damn confused! You were always jumping back and forth between sadistic and merciful. I-I just... I wanted to believe that your good side would win out in the end, and... You always were just kind enough to keep me in love with you."

_"I love you."_

She slumped against the chair in silence, water running down her sallow, dirty cheeks. "Is this what you've always wanted, Joshua? To keep people on the ropes like this? I... I can't see why you would. At least, from where I am... that's so lonely."

_"I love you."_

Joshua raised his hand, scarcely noticing how it trembled. The ropes fell off Rhyme's hands, and the door clicked unlocked. "Go home, Rhyme. I will never bother you again."

She looked up at him, eyes as blue and damp and chaotic as the ocean. "Wh-what?"

He stayed silent, and started to go. He heard the chair scoot away from its occupant, then a pair of thin arms wrapped themselves around the Composer.

"Thank you," she gasped into his back, burying her face between his shoulders and drowning him in her tears and love. "Thank you."

He stayed stiff. "Beat will be missing you. Tell him the truth."

She released him, but turned his shoulders around, forcing him to face her. "I'll tell him you're a good person."

"I'm not," he repeated, eyes hardening again. "Don't lie."

"You're letting me go," she insisted.

"I also brought you here." He started to turn away again, but she held him firm.

"I will always believe in you," she stated again. Then she kissed him.

Something wet was rolling down his face- was it her tears or his? It didn't matter. He knew that now. And he understood the only way he could return her love.

He wrapped his arms around her, and warped them both to the Scramble. When they landed, he stepped away from her, and placed his hand gently on her forehead. Confusion marked her features. "Joshua?"

The painful memories were easy to find, easy to select, and easier still to erase. As he faded into the UG, he left behind a confused girl with no memories of Joshua after her departure, and only foggy memories of the cause.

_I love you._

She had been right all along. It was lonely.

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The End

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Yeah, I'm cruel. But I'm also free. Yay~


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